A Tale of a Tail–and of Social Good!

Bought black leotard, tights, cat ears. Stumped on what to do for a tail. Feeling lazy (costume-wise) compared to last year. Thought about who could help me get a tail mounted onto the back of a wheelchair.

Light bulb moment:

Somebody ’round these parts is serious about tail. Big tails. Truly Nolen is a pest control service company which is well-known for turning their company cars into adorable mice. Whiskers on the front fender, rodent ears along the top, a tail on the back. Charming vehicles and effective critter control, yes. But maybe Truly Nolen could be good for something else…

So I sent off an email. A week later found us 180 miles away in Tucson at Truly Nolen corporate headquarters, so that this could happen:

All that so that this could happen:

Between you and me, sometimes I think that kids who aren’t in wheelchairs get the short end of the stick when it comes to Halloween costumes. I don’t know of any able-bodied kid who could wear a better cat costume than hers. Right?

Either way, tremendous thanks to Truly Nolen! Their Marketing department (Michelle, Caitlin) was quick to respond, lovely to deal with and served as a go-between for their garage and me. The garage staff adapted one of their existing tails by removing the heavy metal core of the tail and fashioning it into something of lighter weight that wouldn’t tip Lauren’s wheelchair over backwards. And while I asked only to borrow one of their tails, after all the work they put into it they have given Lauren this tail to keep!

Additionally, kudos to the half-dozen folks at our nearby Lowe’s store for helping us figure out a way to mount the tail to her chair. With the guidance of Keith, Mario and the rest I have always been confident that the good people at Lowe’s can happily solve any of my problems!

Additionally, Truly Nolen is hosting a costume contest on their Facebook page. Details here. There are prizes involved! You have all week to submit your costume photos! Check it out!

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This post was the product of and gratitude for the extreme lengths that Truly Nolen went to last week to make a little girl happy on Halloween. I received no compensation for this post, other than being gifted the tail referenced above, and Truly Nolen is unaware that I would write about their thoughtfulness and generosity. But when people are kind and go out of their way to make a difference to a child, it deserves attention. Who doesn’t love a company who does that?

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Cassandra can be found on Twitter @aclevergirl. Learn more about her family’s unique challenges and why they have hope for a cure for muscular dystrophy at byrdsforacure.org.